Translating Minority Languages, Bridge Language Translation

Stream

Literary Translation: Making Words Travel

Event TypeSeminar

Translating Minority Languages, Bridge Language Translation

17 Apr 2012, 11:30 - 12:30

Literary Translation Centre

Language:

English

Published literary translations continue to be dominated by only a few large source languages – English, French, Spanish, German, and a handful of others. They are the languages most commonly acquired as a second language, and as such they’re also the languages commissioning publishers are more likely to be able to access directly themselves. What, then, are the challenges faced when working from less-widely spoken languages, which may in fact be used by a large number of speakers as a first language but are rarely acquired as a second, especially not in international publishing centres? Do we need more channels of access, more information, more training for translators? Work originally written in less-widely used languages, whether European or not, will often find its way into translation via a bridge language or through a collaborative effort – is this a welcome practical solution (albeit one that should be practiced with caution and caveats), or – as some translators would argue – is this practice entirely unacceptable?

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